LIVE from the Freedom of the Seas! - Nov 12, 2016/ 8 night Eastern Caribbean

[Hal from Ohio]

Robyn, my wife and I are on this cruise with you, and couldn't agree more with your thoughts/ observations regarding the food. We don't consider ourselves picky eaters, but the overall selection/quality did fall short of expectations. In addition, we couldn't help but notice the overall weariness of the majority of the staff. I certainly know, and appreciate that the crew works very very hard and work very long hours. We make an effort to give more than the corporate structured daily gratuity amount. It appears overall staffing has been reduced and the existing staff is overworked. Just my opinion. I guess that's corporate America today? This did not ruin our trip this week, but was noticeable. Again, just my opinion.

 

 

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[oldmom]

LPut714- the bogo was listed in the cruise planner-showed up about 2 months before our cruise. Anyone can buy this-:cool:

[ckrobyn]

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for joining me this week on the Freedom, I have truly enjoyed sharing my cruise with you! [emoji41]

 

I have commented daily on many things, however now I will give my overall impression on various areas, starting with my cabin.

I loved my hump balcony cabin 9342, it was in a superb location and I didn't hear a sound from the elevator area. Every single thing was in working order. The cabin was fresh and clean smelling, the shower was strong and HOT, and the bed was extremely comfortable with an egg crate mattress topper. No issues whatsoever, and my stateroom attendant Vincent was outstanding and I was happy to tip him extra.

 

 

The Internet: VOOM was not so voomy. I mentioned earlier that I was booted off all the time, and there were also times that I simply could not connect. I paid roughly $63 for the full 8 days after applying my D+ discount. Pretty reasonable, so I can't complain. Plus, I was able to keep my LIVE thread going, so overall it worked out ok.

 

Overall condition of the Freedom: The ship is very well maintained. The last time I sailed Freedom was immediately following the refurb in early 2015. I noticed a bit of peeling paint, but I also noticed a painting crew the next day. The common areas are in excellent shape, and the ship is spotless.

 

The Crew: Very friendly and engaged with guests. I have been in ships where the crew were actively disengaged and it was painfully obvious. Not the case on Freedom [emoji106]

 

The Dining Room: I have already given you my take on the food, so I will skip over that and share some observations about my dining experience. We were seated at table 426, a 10 top next to the window

 

 

We had great table mates (hi Doug and Donna!), as well as another couple who were invited by Doug and Donna to join us. Our waiter Lloyd was on his first week as a full fledged waiter having just been promoted from assistant. Our waiter and assistant waiter were a good team and the service was good. They were genuinely concerned when anyone at the table did not enjoy their meal. The Head Waiter showed up a few times and was happy to listen to feedback and acknowledge that the menu has changed and that there have been a lot of complaints!!!

 

The shops onboard: This is always an area of interest to me as I enjoy browsing the shops many times during my cruise. I found the logo shop to be very well stocked which was great compared to other ships. The cosmetic store was ok, but I was disappointed there really weren't any bargains. I sailed on the Indy last November and they had an exceptional cosmetic store.

I was in and out of the jewelry stores and was pleased to see a great selection of John Hardy pieces [emoji3]

 

Cafe Promenade: They serve Starbucks! I made good use of my Royal Refreshment package! Venti non-fat lattes all week!

 

 

The snack selection these days is a pet peeve of mine. I remember when the sandwich selection changed on a daily basis, but now it is the same 3 sandwich types every single day. The same can be said for the sweets. Oh well, if you're hungry you definitely won't starve!

 

Sorrento's: I tried a bite of cheese pizza on night one and hated it. 'Nuf said.

 

The Pool/Solarium: The new loungers are fantastic! I hope they are going fleet wide.

 

 

All pools are freshwater and sparkling clean. I did not encounter any chair hogs, although there were many towels placed early in the morning ......

 

Entertainment: I don't go to everything, but I really enjoyed the adult comedy, and of course Drew Thomas' Now You See It Magic Show. The musical entertainment I've seen before, so I skipped it.

 

Cruise Director: Casey Pelter is great, not just because he's Canadian [emoji6]. He's super funny and very visible around the ship. He hosted one of the best Quests I have ever been to - I'm pretty sure it was the most energized and loud Quests ever! His morning show on RCTV was very good too.

 

The Captain: Apparently he was onboard but I never saw him [emoji15]. His noon reports were at 12:15PM and I understood about 20% of what he said. I was mostly interested in the weather reports because I already knew our coordinates thanks to my good friend Ocean Boy, my human compass [emoji4]

 

It is 10:25PM as I type this, with a stylus pen on my trusty iPhone 6. It is just about time to say good night and settle in for my final night's sleep on this cruise before disembarking early tomorrow morning. I have color tag #4 and should be off the ship by 8:00AM. We have a 12:25PM flight back to Toronto.

 

Once again, thanks for following along and for all the wonderful comments. I had a fantastic week onboard the Freedom and look forward to the next one in 90 sleeps! Yes I am counting sleeps!!!

 

 

 

 

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Edited November 20, 2016 by ckrobyn

[Agavegirl1]

Thank you for posting this report. I will be on my first ever cruise on Freedom March 4th on the same itinerary. I am so confused by your departure schedule. We have never allowed porters to take our luggage on our other international travel and would like to handle it ourselves. We joined the Crown and Anchor thing because I believe my husband will want to continue cruising but I arrange all of our travel as I am semi-retired.

 

We have determined the beverage package is in our best interest. We have no idea about premium dining options. We are "foodies". Are you suggesting some premium dining should be purchased?

 

Where on the ship would we...C&A members with ... like now NO points line up to get off the ship?

 

We just want to take our stuff and go but not at some ungodly hour of the morning.

 

I am totally not understanding Disembarkation protocol.

[wilmingtech]

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for joining me this week on the Freedom, I have truly enjoyed sharing my cruise with you! [emoji41]

 

I have commented daily on many things, however now I will give my overall impression on various areas, starting with my cabin.

I loved my hump balcony cabin 9342, it was in a superb location and I didn't hear a sound from the elevator area. Every single thing was in working order. The cabin was fresh and clean smelling, the shower was strong and HOT, and the bed was extremely comfortable with an egg crate mattress topper. No issues whatsoever, and my stateroom attendant Vincent was outstanding and I was happy to tip him extra.

 

 

The Internet: VOOM was not so voomy. I mentioned earlier that I was booted off all the time, and there were also times that I simply could not connect. I paid roughly $63 for the full 8 days after applying my D+ discount. Pretty reasonable, so I can't complain. Plus, I was able to keep my LIVE thread going, so overall it worked out ok.

 

Overall condition of the Freedom: The ship is very well maintained. The last time I sailed Freedom was immediately following the refurb in early 2015. I noticed a bit of peeling paint, but I also noticed a painting crew the next day. The common areas are in excellent shape, and the ship is spotless.

 

The Crew: Very friendly and engaged with guests. I have been in ships where the crew were actively disengaged and it was painfully obvious. Not the case on Freedom [emoji106]

 

The Dining Room: I have already given you my take on the food, so I will skip over that and share some observations about my dining experience. We were seated at table 426, a 10 top next to the window

 

 

We had great table mates (hi Doug and Donna!), as well as another couple who were invited by Doug and Donna to join us. Our waiter Lloyd was on his first week as a full fledged waiter having just been promoted from assistant. Our waiter and assistant waiter were a good team and the service was good. They were genuinely concerned when anyone at the table did not enjoy their meal. The Head Waiter showed up a few times and was happy to listen to feedback and acknowledge that the menu has changed and that there have been a lot of complaints!!!

 

The shops onboard: This is always an area of interest to me as I enjoy browsing the shops many times during my cruise. I found the logo shop to be very well stocked which was great compared to other ships. The cosmetic store was ok, but I was disappointed there really weren't any bargains. I sailed on the Indy last November and they had an exceptional cosmetic store.

I was in and out of the jewelry stores and was pleased to see a great selection of John Hardy pieces [emoji3]

 

Cafe Promenade: They serve Starbucks! I made good use of my Royal Refreshment package! Venti non-fat lattes all week!

 

 

The snack selection these days is a pet peeve of mine. I remember when the sandwich selection changed on a daily basis, but now it is the same 3 sandwich types every single day. The same can be said for the sweets. Oh well, if you're hungry you definitely won't starve!

 

Sorrento's: I tried a bite of cheese pizza on night one and hated it. 'Nuf said.

 

The Pool/Solarium: The new loungers are fantastic! I hope they are going fleet wide.

 

 

All pools are freshwater and sparkling clean. I did not encounter any chair hogs, although there were many towels placed early in the morning ......

 

Entertainment: I don't go to everything, but I really enjoyed the adult comedy, and of course Drew Thomas' Now You See It Magic Show. The musical entertainment I've seen before, so I skipped it.

 

Cruise Director: Casey Pelter is great, not just because he's Canadian [emoji6]. He's super funny and very visible around the ship. He hosted one of the best Quests I have ever been to - I'm pretty sure it was the most energized and loud Quests ever! His morning show on RCTV was very good too.

 

The Captain: Apparently he was onboard but I never saw him [emoji15]. His noon reports were at 12:15PM and I understood about 20% of what he said. I was mostly interested in the weather reports because I already knew our coordinates thanks to my good friend Ocean Boy, my human compass [emoji4]

 

It is 10:25PM as I type this, with a stylus pen on my trusty iPhone 6. It is just about time to say good night and settle in for my final night's sleep on this cruise before disembarking early tomorrow morning. I have color tag #4 and should be off the ship by 8:00AM. We have a 12:25PM flight back to Toronto.

 

Once again, thanks for following along and for all the wonderful comments. I had a fantastic week onboard the Freedom and look forward to the next one in 90 sleeps! Yes I am counting sleeps!!!

 

 

 

 

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Good job. Great Review! I think you may have been on our first cruise ever?

 

Have a great trip back.

 

Everyone needs to fill out forms and complain about the food so they can fix it before our sailing on the 4th of March!!!

 

Sleep well.

 

-Sean

Edited November 20, 2016 by wilmingtech

[JRMOTHERHUBBARD]

Enjoy your last evening and have a safe trip back home. I really appreciate your daily postings. I am taking your advise and going with an open mind. So excited that next Saturday I will be sitting out on the balcony of Freedom of the Seas with my daughter. Last evening we finally got the winter weather 12 inches and cold weather.

[adpiterp]

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for joining me this week on the Freedom, I have truly enjoyed sharing my cruise with you! [emoji41]

 

I have commented daily on many things, however now I will give my overall impression on various areas, starting with my cabin.

I loved my hump balcony cabin 9342, it was in a superb location and I didn't hear a sound from the elevator area. Every single thing was in working order. The cabin was fresh and clean smelling, the shower was strong and HOT, and the bed was extremely comfortable with an egg crate mattress topper. No issues whatsoever, and my stateroom attendant Vincent was outstanding and I was happy to tip him extra.

 

 

The Internet: VOOM was not so voomy. I mentioned earlier that I was booted off all the time, and there were also times that I simply could not connect. I paid roughly $63 for the full 8 days after applying my D+ discount. Pretty reasonable, so I can't complain. Plus, I was able to keep my LIVE thread going, so overall it worked out ok.

 

Overall condition of the Freedom: The ship is very well maintained. The last time I sailed Freedom was immediately following the refurb in early 2015. I noticed a bit of peeling paint, but I also noticed a painting crew the next day. The common areas are in excellent shape, and the ship is spotless.

 

The Crew: Very friendly and engaged with guests. I have been in ships where the crew were actively disengaged and it was painfully obvious. Not the case on Freedom [emoji106]

 

The Dining Room: I have already given you my take on the food, so I will skip over that and share some observations about my dining experience. We were seated at table 426, a 10 top next to the window

 

 

We had great table mates (hi Doug and Donna!), as well as another couple who were invited by Doug and Donna to join us. Our waiter Lloyd was on his first week as a full fledged waiter having just been promoted from assistant. Our waiter and assistant waiter were a good team and the service was good. They were genuinely concerned when anyone at the table did not enjoy their meal. The Head Waiter showed up a few times and was happy to listen to feedback and acknowledge that the menu has changed and that there have been a lot of complaints!!!

 

The shops onboard: This is always an area of interest to me as I enjoy browsing the shops many times during my cruise. I found the logo shop to be very well stocked which was great compared to other ships. The cosmetic store was ok, but I was disappointed there really weren't any bargains. I sailed on the Indy last November and they had an exceptional cosmetic store.

I was in and out of the jewelry stores and was pleased to see a great selection of John Hardy pieces [emoji3]

 

Cafe Promenade: They serve Starbucks! I made good use of my Royal Refreshment package! Venti non-fat lattes all week!

 

 

The snack selection these days is a pet peeve of mine. I remember when the sandwich selection changed on a daily basis, but now it is the same 3 sandwich types every single day. The same can be said for the sweets. Oh well, if you're hungry you definitely won't starve!

 

Sorrento's: I tried a bite of cheese pizza on night one and hated it. 'Nuf said.

 

The Pool/Solarium: The new loungers are fantastic! I hope they are going fleet wide.

 

 

All pools are freshwater and sparkling clean. I did not encounter any chair hogs, although there were many towels placed early in the morning ......

 

Entertainment: I don't go to everything, but I really enjoyed the adult comedy, and of course Drew Thomas' Now You See It Magic Show. The musical entertainment I've seen before, so I skipped it.

 

Cruise Director: Casey Pelter is great, not just because he's Canadian [emoji6]. He's super funny and very visible around the ship. He hosted one of the best Quests I have ever been to - I'm pretty sure it was the most energized and loud Quests ever! His morning show on RCTV was very good too.

 

The Captain: Apparently he was onboard but I never saw him [emoji15]. His noon reports were at 12:15PM and I understood about 20% of what he said. I was mostly interested in the weather reports because I already knew our coordinates thanks to my good friend Ocean Boy, my human compass [emoji4]

 

It is 10:25PM as I type this, with a stylus pen on my trusty iPhone 6. It is just about time to say good night and settle in for my final night's sleep on this cruise before disembarking early tomorrow morning. I have color tag #4 and should be off the ship by 8:00AM. We have a 12:25PM flight back to Toronto.

 

Once again, thanks for following along and for all the wonderful comments. I had a fantastic week onboard the Freedom and look forward to the next one in 90 sleeps! Yes I am counting sleeps!!!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

AWESOME review, Robyn!!! Loved your pictures and review. Looks like you had an amazing time, thank you for sharing it with all of us!

[adpiterp]

I'm intrigued! Who is Super Mario?

 

I had to look him up after seeing Robyn's reply!

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/tourism/fl-royal-caribbean-avid-cruiser-20160429-story.html

WOW!:)

[ckrobyn]

Thank you for posting this report. I will be on my first ever cruise on Freedom March 4th on the same itinerary. I am so confused by your departure schedule. We have never allowed porters to take our luggage on our other international travel and would like to handle it ourselves. We joined the Crown and Anchor thing because I believe my husband will want to continue cruising but I arrange all of our travel as I am semi-retired.

 

 

 

We have determined the beverage package is in our best interest. We have no idea about premium dining options. We are "foodies". Are you suggesting some premium dining should be purchased?

 

 

 

Where on the ship would we...C&A members with ... like now NO points line up to get off the ship?

 

 

 

We just want to take our stuff and go but not at some ungodly hour of the morning.

 

 

 

I am totally not understanding Disembarkation protocol.

 

 

 

There is a walk off program, but I believe that is an option only at 7:30AM, otherwise you will need to put your luggage outside your cabin by 11PM and disembark according to the tag # you are given.

 

I'm not suggesting you dine in the specialty restaurants. My comments about the quality and selection of food options in the main dining room are strictly my opinion. Your mileage may vary.....

 

Everyone is assigned a tag # for disembarkation, and a waiting area. You will be quite surprised at how civilized it is.

 

 

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[ckrobyn]

AWESOME review, Robyn!!! Loved your pictures and review. Looks like you had an amazing time, thank you for sharing it with all of us!

 

 

 

So glad you enjoyed it! [emoji106][emoji41]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ckrobyn]

Enjoy your last evening and have a safe trip back home. I really appreciate your daily postings. I am taking your advise and going with an open mind. So excited that next Saturday I will be sitting out on the balcony of Freedom of the Seas with my daughter. Last evening we finally got the winter weather 12 inches and cold weather.

 

 

 

You should absolutely have an open mind because you're going to have an amazing cruise!!!! Freedom is a fantastic ship, enjoy!!!

 

 

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[goldgirl2]

I really enjoyed this review! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it. I am looking forward to meeting you in February at our meet and mingle[emoji4]

[Ashley_M]

Thank you for your review! I'm even more excited to be on my first cruise next Saturday!! I am definitely disappointed to hear about the food quality so I guess we will use our onboard credit towards specialty restaurants.

 

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[Ditch]

Thanks for the review as we sail on the Freedom in less than three weeks. I was looking at the beverage packages on-board and it stated "Starbucks" brands were not included. Did you run into this problem?

[Lionesss]

I have been following and reading many reviews lately, and I must say as always you do a great job, pictures and commentary.

 

Glad you had a relatively great cruise, minus the couple bumps.

 

Looking forward to your next adventure.....and hope you continue to share your experiences...

 

Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh I am so in the need of a cruise ..............woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground.

[sg1phileshipper]

Robyn, thanks a million for your wonderful live review and for allowing us to join you. I can't comment on the food, but I enjoyed "our" cruise. Looking forward to your February sailing, as that will put me alot closer to my TA, double digits even. Your pics were awesome and I agree that using an iphone and tapatalk to do a live thread is so much easier. Have a safe flight home :)

 

 

Cindy

[Ocean Boy]

Good job. Great Review! I think you may have been on our first cruise ever?

 

Have a great trip back.

 

Everyone needs to fill out forms and complain about the food so they can fix it before our sailing on the 4th of March!!!

 

Sleep well.

 

-Sean

 

A good week to be at sea.:) And, yes, they had better fix the food by then.:rolleyes:

[Ocean Boy]

I see Freedom is snuggled into terminal 29 at Port Everglades. Eight ships in port today should make for a busy FLL.

[Shar27]

Thank you for your review! I'm even more excited to be on my first cruise next Saturday!! I am definitely disappointed to hear about the food quality so I guess we will use our onboard credit towards specialty restaurants.

 

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

Throwing in my 2 cents about the food.

 

Yes, I was disappointed to lose so many of my go to options off of the DR menu. I even schlepped balsamic glaze from home to use on the salmon (which was nowhere to be found). [emoji853]

 

But....I found options that I enjoyed every night that I ate there. On the few nights that the menu did not thrill us, we ate in the Windjammer and it was wonderful!

 

Jade, which offers different Asian choices all the time and is part of the Jammer, was amazing!! I enjoyed many dishes from Chinese, Thai and Indian cuisine that were really good. Who knew I liked Indian food so much?[emoji2]

 

Go with an open mind and I'm sure you will always find some great choices.

 

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

I see Freedom is snuggled into terminal 29 at Port Everglades. Eight ships in port today should make for a busy FLL.

PC caps out at 6. 7 if you count the Victory. 😉

 

Doesn't happen very often

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

[ckrobyn]

I see Freedom is snuggled into terminal 29 at Port Everglades. Eight ships in port today should make for a busy FLL.

 

 

 

I was off the ship and in a cab to the airport by 8:15AM [emoji41] terminal 29 is great for disembarkation.....but that's about it [emoji15]

 

 

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[ckrobyn]

Robyn, thanks a million for your wonderful live review and for allowing us to join you. I can't comment on the food, but I enjoyed "our" cruise. Looking forward to your February sailing, as that will put me alot closer to my TA, double digits even. Your pics were awesome and I agree that using an iphone and tapatalk to do a live thread is so much easier. Have a safe flight home :)

 

 

Cindy

 

 

 

You are most welcome [emoji3] I had a great cruise and lots of fun taking you all with me!

 

 

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[ckrobyn]

Good job. Great Review! I think you may have been on our first cruise ever?

 

Have a great trip back.

 

Everyone needs to fill out forms and complain about the food so they can fix it before our sailing on the 4th of March!!!

 

Sleep well.

 

-Sean

 

 

 

What ship was your first cruise, and when? I'll either confirm or deny [emoji6]

 

 

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[ckrobyn]

I have been following and reading many reviews lately, and I must say as always you do a great job, pictures and commentary.

 

 

 

Glad you had a relatively great cruise, minus the couple bumps.

 

 

 

Looking forward to your next adventure.....and hope you continue to share your experiences...

 

 

 

Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh I am so in the need of a cruise ..............woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground.

 

 

 

Thanks for your nice comments, I always hope that my reviews are interesting reading for the "landlocked"!! I know how much I enjoy reading them while I'm waiting for my next cruise [emoji3]

 

Snow flurries in Toronto today [emoji30]

 

 

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Edited November 20, 2016 by ckrobyn

[ckrobyn]

Thanks for the review as we sail on the Freedom in less than three weeks. I was looking at the beverage packages on-board and it stated "Starbucks" brands were not included. Did you run into this problem?

 

 

 

Starbucks is most definitely included [emoji106] Enjoy!!

 

 

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